The Foundation city state is a combination of two population poles. It may eventually evolve into two independent city states, but at the moment described in this project is still a single entity.
As a city state, Foundation has few border problems since its population is extremely concentrated. The decentralized decision making process reduces the strain of maintaining two extremely different population center under a single 'authority'.
Martian Identity
The autonomy doctrine is based on the assumption that Mars should be able, as soon as possible, to survive and thrive even in the case of a global disaster on Earth that would jeopardize supplies. The idea of Mars as a backup of the Earth underlies many of the Martians’ decisions. This leads to some specific industrial choices, based on risk analysis and mitigation rather than profitability. And it leads to endless public debate, of the sort Martians are fond of. An overarching Martian identity rose up remarkably fast, tempered by a fierce local pride that feeds the many district’s and City States civil life. The people of Foundation are proud to be part of the oldest and largest City State on Mars. However, this pride has never deteriorated to nationalism thanks to the shared experience of life on Mars, where every second of your life depends on the work of others, on the careful and attentive maintenance of equipment, systems and ecosystems that must work flawlessly for you and yours to survive. The Martians really are ‘All in it together’. The idea of Mars as a stepping stone to space and eventually to the stars, even more than the idea of a backup plan for mankind has proven attractive to millions of Martian settlers. Mars is populated by pioneers and the children of pioneers, people who feel intimately that they are building something new, and something big. Mars’ quest to green itself is seen by many as a quest for meaning, the transcendence of Humanity, from a dead world into a vibrantly living one, and the first step to an even grander plan of spreading life throughout the universe.
Underlying the entire narrative presented on this site and in the Mars Society contest are a number of assumptions. In the first place, it is assumed that humans can live and reproduce on Mars. As the required experiments have not been done, the effect of Martian levels of gravity are still unknown, with scientist's opinions ranging from optimist to pessimist. In the second place it is assumed that SpaceX, or a similar organization, is successful in creating cheap transportation to space, and therefore to Mars. In particular it is assumed that the psychological and health risks of the trip to Mars are surmountable in a fairly short term. The development of City States, rather than nations, homesteads or some yet unknows organization is another underlying assumption.
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